A stand-up packaging pouch disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-070947, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-227801, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-310248, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-310276, and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-349013 is a so-called “Doyen Pak” type packaging pouch having a form in which a side heat seal is applied to the two side edges of the front face portion and the two side edges of the rear face portion to form a seam, in which, when the pouch is opened out three-dimensionally, a twofold bottom gusset opens out laterally to produce a bottom face portion shaped like a ship's bottom, and in which pleats are formed at the edge of the front face portion and bottom face portion and at the edge of the rear face portion and bottom face portion to thereby conceal the bottom face portion. A “Doyen Pak” type packaging pouch, however, has a particular ship's bottom form with side seals on both sides and no side face portions, and is therefore clearly different in form to a packaging pouch having an rectangular bottom.
Stand-up packaging pouches disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-286758, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-153852, and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-272634 also have an identical bottom portion to a Doyen Pak form.
Stand-up packaging pouches described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-185740, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-229646, and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-309345 are manufactured in a flattened pouch form, having a front face portion, a rear face portion, side face portions, and a bottom face portion, and having side heat-seals applied in a pinch form to the edges of the front face portion and the edges of the side face portions or side heat seals applied in a pinch form to the edges of the rear face portion and the edges of the side face portions. When opened out into three dimensions, the lower portions of the side heat seals reach the side edges of the bottom face portion, extending in a horizontal direction. This stand-up packaging pouch is not provided with hems (creased edges) or pleats on the edge between the front face portion and bottom face portion or the edge between the rear face portion and bottom face portion, and as a result, the bottom face portion is poorly defined, the outward appearance is unpleasant, and the stand-up quality is poor.
An indefinite outer shape container disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-031110 is a packaging pouch formed by inserting a rectangular mandrel into a flattened pouch to form a prismatic (prism-shaped) tube, forming a rectangular bottom face, applying a bottom seal to triangular ears formed on both sides, and severing the ear portions, whereby a heat seal portion extending horizontally outward at the lower end of the side face portions can be formed. This heat seal portion extends horizontally outward in a flange form, thereby inhibiting the attainment of a design having a clear-cut outline and causing an obstruction between adjacent pleats which disturb one another when the pouches are packed and displayed.
A side-gusseted flat-bottomed pouch disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-206385 is manufactured into a flattened pouch having a front face portion, a rear face portion, and side gussets. A regular mandrel is inserted to form a prismatic tube and a rectangular bottom face is formed, whereupon a heat seal is applied to the two side edges of the bottom face with the prismatic tube flattened into a T shape so as to close the side gussets. In so doing, a packaging pouch having pleats formed on the edge between the front face portion and bottom face portion and the edge between the rear face portion and bottom face portion is manufactured with a heat seal portion extending horizontally outward from the lower end of the side face portions. This heat seal portion extends horizontally outward in a flange form, thereby inhibiting the attainment of a design of a clearly defined shape and causing an obstruction between adjacent pleats which disturb one another when the pouches are packed and displayed.
An example of a side-gusseted flat-bottomed pouch shown in FIG. 11 disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-206385 is manufactured in a form having a pleat on the lower end of the peripheral face portion and having a bottom face portion which is folded using a separate sheet of paper, inserted into the lower portion of a flattened tube having a front face portion, rear face portion, and side gussets, and heat sealed.
This pleat is not folded into a pinch form, and therefore the edge of the flattened tube and the edge of the inserted bottom face portion rarely match perfectly. Further, when heat sealing is performed creases occur in various locations, giving a pleat with an unpleasant appearance and an incomplete peripheral heat seal such that the pouch is totally inappropriate for use as a liquid container.
According to a conventional vertical form-fill-seal method, a packaging material is issued from a packaging material feed roll, hooked onto a former, and folded into a tubular form so as to be wrapped substantially once around a packaged product filling tube which extends through the inside of the former. The two edges of the packaging material are then overlapped into a pinch pleat form or heat sealed into an envelope seal to form a packaging tube and the packaging tube is lowered under the packaged product filling tube, whereupon a product to be packaged is filled into the packaging tube downward through the packaged product filling tube and a bottom heat seal and top heat seal are applied to the packaging tube below and above the packaged product.
The packaging tube is manufactured into a vertical pillow package body with a rectangular bottom by abutting the packaging tube at the top and bottom in the side face direction with butting rods to thereby form a bottom gusset and a top gusset while a double heat seal comprising a bottom heat seal and a top heat seal is applied. The two edges of the packaging material which is wrapped substantially once around the packaged product filling tube are heat sealed to form a packaging tube and ribs are formed at four sides of the tube.
However, the vertical pillow package body with a rectangular bottom which is manufactured by this conventional form-fill-seal method cannot have a pleasing appearance.
In a horizontal form-fill-seal method, a packaging material is issued from a packaging material feed roll and hooked onto a former to be folded into a prismatic tunnel tubular form, whereupon the two edges of the packaging material are overlapped into a pinch form or heat sealed with the front and rear surfaces overlapped to form a packaging tube. Products to be packaged which are transported by an import conveyor are dispatched into the former at predetermined intervals, whereupon a double end seal is applied to the packaging tube between packaged product and packaged product and the packaging tube is cut between the double heat seal.
Prior to the sealing operation of the end sealers during the application of the double heat seal, the butting rods abut the packaging tube in the center of height on the two sides of the end sealers in the direction of packaging material motion to thereby form gussets, and thus the packaging tube is manufactured into a gusseted horizontal pillow package body.
Thanks to the gussets of the gusseted horizontal pillow package body manufactured by this conventional horizontal form-fill-seal method, the width of the packaging tube is not extended when the packaged product is a lens-attached camera, for example.
However, in this gusseted horizontal pillow package body, the gusset-inserted end seal is usually in pinch pleat form and therefore the package body is not placed on a shelf by inclining the end seal horizontally and rotating the package body 90 degrees such that the horizontally inclined end seal forms a bottom face portion. If the packaged body is placed thus, the bottom face portion having a horizontally inclined end seal causes the front face side and rear face side to become rounded. As a result, the package body lacks a stable stand-up quality and does not give the impression of a tightly sealed package.